• having observed the four sights as a young prince, Gautama Buddha (statue pictured) realized the sufferings in life and started an ascetic life against his father's wish?
• Yasa, the sixth arahant of Gautama Buddha, was also the son and former husband of the first two female lay disciples?
• Patacara, who became a Buddhist while disconsolately wandering naked through the Indian city of Savatthi, rose to become the foremost bhikkhuni of Gautama Buddha in her mastery of the Vinaya?
• the Buddha statue of Long Son Pagoda in Nha Trang, Vietnam is a major vantage point over the city?
• the footprints of the Buddha (pictured) often bear distinguishing marks, such as a Dharmachakra or the 32, 108 or 132 auspicious signs of the Buddha?
• the intended occupant of the empty throne (example pictured) may have been Alexander the Great, Buddha, Julius Caesar, or Jesus Christ?
• the relics of Sariputra and Mahamoggallana, Gautama Buddha's two chief disciples, were the subject of more than two million Sri Lankan pilgrimage visits after their discovery by Sir Alexander Cunningham?
• the Mahiyangana Raja Maha Vihara is one of the Solosmasthana, the 16 religious sites in Sri Lanka that Buddhists believe to have been hallowed by visits of Gautama Buddha?
• Nanda, the half-sister of Gautama Buddha, went on to be the foremost nun in the practice of jhana?
• Nagarjunakonda, a historic Buddhist town in Andhra Pradesh believed to hold some relics of Gautama Buddha was submerged by the construction of the Nagarjuna Sagar Dam, the tallest masonry dam in the world?
• Anuruddha, one of the leading five disciples of Gautama Buddha, was his cousin?
• Prince Vijaya, the founder of the Kingdom of Tambapanni, landed at Tambapanni on the day of the death of Gautama Buddha?
• Singapore's Burmese Buddhist Temple has the largest white marble statue of the Buddha (pictured) outside of Myanmar?
• Assaji, the last of the first five bhikkhus of Gautama Buddha to become an arahant, converted Sariputta and Mahamoggallana, the Buddha's two chief disciples?
• Bhadda Kapilani, the foremost bhikkhuni of Gautama Buddha in understanding past reincarnations, was the former wife of Mahakasyapa, who led the sangha following the Buddha's paranibbana?
• Kosambi, a city in ancient India which was a frequent site of sermons by the Buddha, was one of the places considered suitable for his Parinibbāna?
• Kaundinya, the first arahant and bhikkhu of Gautama Buddha, was the only royal scholar to predict Siddhartha's Buddhahood?
• Sariputra, one the two chief disciples of Gautama Buddha, is frequently featured in the Jatakas alongside Mahamoggallana and the Buddha in their past lives?

Facts on topics related to Gautama Buddha

Buddhism

• Hindu deity Chinnamasta and Buddhist deity Vajrayogini are often depicted as drinking blood from the kapala?
• Zen Buddhist scholar Philip Yampolsky was the grandson of Franz Boas, the founder of Columbia University's anthropology department?
• Dharmachari Aryadaka was the first paid Buddhist prison chaplain in Washington state?
• Diskit Monastery (pictured) is the oldest and largest Buddhist monastery in the Nubra Valley of Ladakh, northern India?
• Isidore van Kinsbergen had to dig and to clean for four months before he could take the first picture of the 9th century Indonesian Buddhist monument of Borobudur (pictured) in 1873?
• Kursha Monastery is the largest Buddhist monastery in the Zanskar region of eastern Jammu and Kashmir, India?
• Lý Anh Tông, the sixth emperor of the Lý Dynasty, was considered the first ruler of Đại Việt who promoted Buddhism as the state religion?
• Layman Pang, a wealthy merchant and Zen Buddhist in Tang Dynasty China, once put all of his possessions in a boat and sank them in a river?
• Mahinda, a 3rd century monk who brought Buddhism to Sri Lanka, was the son of the Mauryan Emperor Asoka?
• Nagarjunakonda, a historic Buddhist town in Andhra Pradesh believed to hold some relics of Gautama Buddha was submerged by the construction of the Nagarjuna Sagar Dam, the tallest masonry dam in the world?

History of Buddhism

• the History of Buddhism includes a century of Greco-Buddhist interaction, primarily around Bactria?
• the history of Buddhism includes a century of Greco-Buddhist interaction, primarily around Bactria?

Kaundinya

• Kaundinya, the first arahant and bhikkhu of Gautama Buddha, was the only royal scholar to predict Siddhartha's Buddhahood?

Ashoka the Great

• Ashoka's Major Rock Edict was the first and most impressive of Ashoka's edicts, and is the only one remaining unaltered in its original location?
• rock edicts of Emperor Ashoka, found at Brahmagiri in the present-day Karnataka state of India, indicated the southernmost extent of the Mauryan Empire?

Decline of Buddhism in India

• a major milestone in the decline of Buddhism in India came in 1193 when the great university at Nalanda was destroyed by Turkish Muslim raiders?

Buddha

• Kaundinya, the first arahant and bhikkhu of Gautama Buddha, was the only royal scholar to predict Siddhartha's Buddhahood?
• a casket discovered by Anant Sadashiv Altekar near Vaishali, on display at the Patna Museum, is said to contain the remains of the Buddha?
• a hole was made in 1997 in the belly of the Mahamuni Buddha statue (pictured) at the Mahamuni Buddha Temple in Mandalay, Myanmar, aiming to steal embedded jewels thought to be inside?
• an Indo-Corinthian capital is a Buddhist adaption of the Greek Corinthian capital, often incorporating images of the Buddha?
• for hundreds of years the Buddha was represented by symbols such as his footprint before images like the Seated Buddha from Gandhara (pictured) were carved in Pakistan?
• the Buddhist Pantheon (personage pictured) incorporates more than 3,000 Buddhas and deities?
• the Wat Phra Kaew, a Buddhist temple (temple complex pictured) in Bangkok, Thailand, has an idol of Emerald Buddha with a legend linked to India, five centuries after Buddha attained Nirvana?
• the ancient Toluvila statue is one of the best-preserved images of the Buddha that has been found in Sri Lanka?